GVC Holdings will take over bwin.party in a?￡1.1 billion (about $1.61 billion) to be completed on February 1, 2016. In spite of being hammered by the impacts of a 3%?EU VAT, bwin.party posted a revenue increase of about 5% year on year, noting strong growth in mobile and increased performance in casino operations and sports betting. Further progress on cost savings was also noted in the investor release.
Shareholders of bwin.party approved each of the resolutions pertaining to the takeover bid on December 15, 2015. Pending?approval of the Court in Gibraltar the new GVC shares should be released to trading on the?London Stock Exchange at?around 8.00 a.m. on 2 February 2016.
An outlook as followed was included in the Pre Close trading update by bwin.party: “Based upon recent trading performance, the forthcoming Euro Championship in 2016 and the full year benefit of cost savings already achieved in 2015, the Board believes that the Group’s prospects are strong, and these will be enhanced yet further by the proposed combination with GVC Holdings PLC.”
In September, after a several month-long battle for one of the biggest gambling operators in the world, GVC Holdings Plc beat out rival 888 Holdings Plc to takeover bwin.party.